Numbers matching K98

Easier to find state side and import, careful lots are messed with and faked as with anything people will go through extravagant measures to get more money out of a turd. Buy the books do your research join k98 forum ask questions. There are some up here but most have been imported. Andrew or Jeremy should be along shortly they are some of the authorities here on k98's and I trust what they have to say.
 
By Karem and Steves books.
Karabiner and Kriegsmodell. Middle volume will be out next year. Will help you a lot. Learning types and patterns.
 
Original matching K98 rifles are a rather rare commodity here in Canada. All of the WWII veterans I've spoken to about the subject have explained that they were not officially allowed to bring firearms home... so a lot of neat stuff ended up in the bottom of Halifax Harbor...

That said, you can sometimes get lucky and find something that either the MP's missed or was brought up from the United States after the fact. The odds aren't in your favour though... That is why these rifles tend to be very pricey when they are made available.

If you simply want an original and aren't too concerned about paying a premium, you can certainly import one from the United States, but with our dollar where it is, it won't be cheap.

As far as finding one in Canada goes, a lot of it is just luck, but I'd suggest starting an ad in the EE and perhaps posting WTB ads at your range or in your community. It's amazing what you can find tucked away in old collections.

- Chris
 
There are some very nice post war reworks that are mostly matching with the odd part, like the safety lever, force matched with a new electropenciled part. Those are the German police reworks. Some look as new and retain all of their original waffenampts and WWII factory codes.
 
I remember missing out on the matching serial number one because I asked Marstar to hold one for me and even offered to pre-pay. I was waiting to get a PAL from an FAC. They said not to worry they should still have one when my paperwork cleared.

They didn't.
 
Purchasing a K98 in matching condition can be a minefield for a new guy. There are a lot of dicked with and humped rifles being passed off as "matching" original examples. You really should educate yourself before taking the plunge by burying yourself in the books suggested and browsing the K98 forum first. For an entry level K98 a Russian Capture, post war Czech or East German refurb is a much safer route to follow.
 
They are like any other rare milsurp, look hard enough and with some dumb luck you might find something :)

By far the easiest way to find a matching K98k though is to go down to the big U.S. shows like Tulsa, NGD, SOS, MAX, ect. but only after you have studied very hard because there's a lot of fakes mixed in with the real ones. Probably wouldn't hurt to fly down CanadianAR and jbmauser to look them over for you (they should offer that service, haha).

If you don't need a collectors piece, I'd say get started with a nice capture K98k that is fun to shoot and about 1/5 the price. The guys posting nice collectors pieces here for the most part don't actually show them, they are just safe queens as some people call them.

-Steve
 
Everyone who has commented has great experience and has pointed you in the correct direction.

In Canada - you can look for Portugese Contract rifle - made by the Nazi's during WWII (usually during years that the war was going well for the Germans so the quality is impecable) and they are cheaper than a German coded K98. Some of these went undelivered and were used by German Troops - but any surviving example that saw Combat are MM or RC's.
 
Thanks all for your info it is greatly appreciated! Next question while a guy sits and waits for a collectors version, what should I look for in the mean time that I can still shoot, and has all the markings etc. is there builds and versions that function and shoot better than others?
 
Found a sporterized "Germany" import stamped one that was kind of matching, didn't cost too much to buy and restore it with a TradeEx stock set. Came out to be a couple hundred dollars below the cost of an RC...
 
nothing wrong with a RC to get you started ,its the real thing .Look around and find a nice one shouldnt be to hard,they are not matching numbers but other than that they shoot just the same as an all matching example.
 
There are a ton of different post war refurbs and builds that make excellent shooters as well as being collectible in their own rights.

Czech, East German, Yugo, Israeli, and the Russian Captures are the most common. Look for one that hasn't been messed with and has a good bore and you're off to a good start.

When you are ready to start buying matching originals always, always get a second and maybe third opinion on what you're looking to buy. Both myself and CanadianAR are willing to help out new collectors or seasoned ones for that matter with matching original purchases.
 
Also, we do have a K98k sticky in this section that was intended to be a reference for matching originals but has become a bit cluttered with RC's and some pics that have nothing to do with K98k's. Would be nice if a mod could clean it up. There are still many fantastic original K98k's pictured in it with links to detailed photos.
 
The nicest of the refurb's is generally a Norwegian example - they are generally matching but have new barrels as they are re-chambered to 30-06 - this isn't necessarily a bad thing as 30-06 ammo is cheaper and easier to find.

East German and Czech refurb's are nice (generally made up of left over WWII parts). RC's are refurb'd and made up of MM parts - lots of interesting codes and quality is starke - from original finish on some to repaired stocks and rust.

There are lots of nice examples out there - start at about $350-500 for a sporter and the price goes up from there.
 
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